Letters to the Editor Saturday

Savannah truckers are indeed the backbone of America. Some are professional drivers and some are independent contractors.

Professional drivers are better known as “company drivers” and independent contractors are known as “owner operators.”

There was an article in the Savannah Morning News on Feb. 28, stating that some port truckers feel abused and are desperately trying to unionize the trucking community. They are citing low wages and high maintenance costs as well as illegal activity, and having to make a decision as to fix their equipment or feed their kids.

They desperately want “company driver” status in the ports and demand higher wages and benefits like the longshoreman. This group also claims to be the ultimate voice for all.

I’m not one of those people who support bringing the Teamsters into the Savannah ports.

I am completely satisfied having my “independent contractor” status and want to kindly offer some advice for these Teamster Union organizers: if you want to be a company driver with hourly pay and benefits, there are many companies that do port work in Savannah that you can apply to.

If you own your own truck, I suggest you move it to a more lucrative line of work. If you want higher wages and benefits like the longshoreman, apply for a job at the Georgia Ports Authority or International Longshoremen’s Association.

If you’re doing a “lease purchase” on a truck, that would explain why you can’t afford to make ends meet. Maybe consider ending your contract and buying your own truck.

JOE MEYERS

Savannah

City needs more employees like Evans

Since retiring and moving to Savannah from another state a few years ago, my primary source of news about local government and politics has been the Savannah Morning News.

Unfortunately, reports on frequent crimes, including those among police and city officials, have given me a very poor impression of local government.

Tuesday’s editorial regarding the retirement of the city’s Chief Financial Director Dick Evans (“True public servant”) gave me new hope, however. Although I don’t know him, the description of his high standards, work ethics, reliability and professionalism made me grateful for his many years of service.

It also reminded me that there are countless other honest, hard-working public servants whose names we don’t frequently see in the news and I would like to offer my thanks to each.

Here’s hoping that all of Savannah can demonstrate the example set by Mr. Evans.

SANDRA LANGSTON

Savannah

Obama ‘amateurs’ trying to deal with Putin

With the current confrontation of Russia, Ukraine and the Western European nations over Russia vs. Ukraine in the “Crimea occupation,” it is no secret that the Obama administration operatives are hamstrung on how to respond, or, if they should respond at all.

These amateurs are scrambling just like Hillary Clinton did on Benghazi.

It would be helpful if we had confidence in Obama’s understanding of Russian naval history, and what are the objectives of Vladimir Putin’s Russian occupation, but I have none.

Remember, Obama and Dmitry Medvedev’s hot mic conversation over Obama’s nuclear summit options, prior to the reelection of 2012? That Obama comment, “This is my last election” speaks directly of sedition against American interests, sovereignty and security.

It would also be helpful if Obama or John Kerry knew that the Russian Black Sea fleet has been using the port of Sevastopol, Crimea, as a warm water base since 1783, and that Russia would never give up this strategic naval access. Obama should also know that Russia and Ukraine have a joint fleet treaty in place, guaranteeing Russian access to the Black Sea ports of Crimea.

Obama doesn’t need to rattle sabers and strut like a rooster for the cameras, thinking that he is so astute to handle a phony foreign policy emergency; and he thinks we believe it. Also notice there is no imminent cutoff of gas and oil supplies from Russia to Western Europe based on the coming of spring and summer.

All he has to do is invoke the treaty and get out of the way. There are plenty of domestic issues to occupy Obama, right here at home.

MICHAEL W. REA

Savannah

So much for openness

When President Obama first took office, he told us his would be an open and transparent administration.

Then he and his attorney general proceeded to lie, and I guess Lois Lerner decided lying did not suit her so she just chose to hide behind the Fifth Amendment, which is her right, but what happened to all that transparency?

Using the IRS to quell the rights of the opposition is a tactic reminiscent of a former despot and the Gestapo.

So much for openness.

DICK BERKOWITZ

Savannah

Anyone for cricket? Savannah needs team

It’s time that Savannah had a cricket team. Did you know that Charleston has a cricket team?

We can beat anything that Charleston does, surely. And even though they have a team, they don’t have anywhere to play, whereas we have Grayson Stadium and beautiful Forsyth Park and Daffin Park and other fine, wide open grassy spaces.

In case the whole thing is a mystery to your readers, here’s a very brief run-down.

A cricket team consists of 11 players. They wear white: everything — pants, shirts, socks, shoes, sweaters, all white, so you can’t tell one team from another except for little touches like caps, or the colors the members’ wives knit on the edges of their men folk’s sweaters.

The batsmen (always two at a time) wield cricket bats, like baseball bats but flat, and the bowler delivers a bright red ball, about the size of a tennis ball but made of very hard leather. The ball bounces once on the grass wicket before it reaches the batsman, so there are fast bowlers and slow bowlers on the team because the fast bowlers aim to scare the living daylights out of the batsman by sheer speed, while the slow bowlers put devilish spin on the ball so that the batsman doesn’t know what it’s going to do.

But we need a team. Who’s out there in Savannah to help make it happen? Charleston is nervous.

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Amazes me to watch and listen to some of the GOP/TP war hawks and neoconservatives start the war drums over what is going on in Ukraine which is next to and has past ties and treaties with Russia. Not like our invasion of Iraq which is thousands of miles from America’s shores.

Wait a minute, this just in from FOX News. FOX news is reporting that John McCain went up to Alaska to visit with Sarah Palin and while they were sitting out on her porch keeping an eye on Russia and seems they were drinking and had a little too much to drink. They showed up at the Alaskan National Guard Base and were last seen taking off in an old jet with the three other National Guard’s jets with old WWII bombs on the wings. McCain and Palin made a statement before they took off that they were going to teach Putin a lesson.

Wait a minute, this just in the AP is reporting that Seattle Washington in under attack by four antique aircraft. Stand by for further news as it comes in.

But I suspect that drilling, fracking. mining, solar, wind etc, leading to energy independence, would help 99% of our problems at many a level. It would be sweet to export energy to western Europe, even sweeter if that left Putin seething.

So-called Liberal Thinkitover bamboozled again by a Fox News report. It seems as though a spokesperson for the Obama Administration “leaked” a story to Fox to redirect public attention from the real issues viewers should be concerned with: misrepresented job numbers, hundreds of thousands still waiting on their approvals for Obamacare plans, still more with no identification cards or proof of insurance even when a provider calls for benefits, an administration whose legacy will include too many instances of lying while they continue to point fingers at previous administrations for the same thing (two wrongs don’t make a right), partisan politics at its best/worst – on BOTH sides of the aisle, and a country that no longer trusts its elected officials en masse.

Houston, we have a problem! Now, let's S T O P calling names like argumentative children and S T A R T working together as a people to solve it.

To Joe Meyers – you don’t know the first thing about trucking and you sound an awful lot like one of the 1% bosses that’s getting rich off of our backs. The fact is that there is nothing “independent” about what we do; it is a total scam. I work only for one company, and that company tells me where to go, what to do, and when to do it. This is an illegal scheme to make the companies themselves independent of having to pay taxes and be responsible for their employees. Demanding that we do meetings with company drivers. Makes us employees Joe.

Joe Meyers, what are you talking about? You claim that a professional truck driver is a “company driver” (commonly known as an employee) and that an independent contractor is an “owner operator.” You obviously know nothing about the trucking industry or about running a law-abiding business. One is only an “independent contractor” if he or she is truly independent and can work for whomever he want, whenever he wants. That isn’t my life – yet they call me an “independent contractor.” I’m a professional truck driver misclassified illegally as an “independent contractor.” That has nothing to do with whether or not I own my truck (lots of employees in other industries bring their own tools to work – like the guys who work for construction companies!).

Chris, I totally agree with you that Savannah needs a team. Charleston in fact has 2 teams. Please let me know how can I help. I am excited about cricket in Savnnah. Currently I travel to Jacksonville, dayatona Beach, Tallahassee and Charleston to play league games. Please drop me an email and let me know how can I get involved.